§ 2 — Court of appeals and judges thereof; designation of supreme court justices to serve temporarily; judicial nominating commission; filling of vacancies by appointment; confirmation of appointments

§ 2. a. The court of appeals is continued. It shall consist of the\nchief judge and the six elected associate judges now in office, who\nshall hold their offices until the expiration of their respective terms,\nand their successors, and such justices of the supreme court as may be\ndesignated for service in said court as hereinafter provided. The\nofficial terms of the chief judge and the six associate judges shall be\nfourteen years.\n Five members of the court shall constitute a quorum, and the\nconcurrence of four shall be necessary to a decision; but no more than\nseven judges shall sit in any case. In case of the temporary absence or\ninability to act of any judge of the court of appeals, the court may\ndesignate any justice of the supreme court to serve as associate judge\nof the court during such absence or inability to act. The court shall\nhave power to appoint and to remove its clerk. The powers and\njurisdiction of the court shall not be suspended for want of appointment\nwhen the number of judges is sufficient to constitute a quorum.\n b. Whenever and as often as the court of appeals shall certify to the\ngovernor that the court is unable, by reason of the accumulation of\ncauses pending therein, to hear and dispose of the same with reasonable\nspeed, the governor shall designate such number of justices of the\nsupreme court as may be so certified to be necessary, but not more than\nfour, to serve as associate judges of the court of appeals. The justices\nso designated shall be relieved, while so serving, from their duties as\njustices of the supreme court, and shall serve as associate judges of\nthe court of appeals until the court shall certify that the need for the\nservices of any such justices no longer exists, whereupon they shall\nreturn to the supreme court. The governor may fill vacancies among such\ndesignated judges. No such justices shall serve as associate judge of\nthe court of appeals except while holding the office of justice of the\nsupreme court. The designation of a justice of the supreme court as an\nassociate judge of the court of appeals shall not be deemed to affect\nhis or her existing office any longer than until the expiration of his\nor her designation as such associate judge, nor to create a vacancy.\n c. There shall be a commission on judicial nomination to evaluate the\nqualifications of candidates for appointment to the court of appeals and\nto prepare a written report and recommend to the governor those persons\nwho by their character, temperament, professional aptitude and\nexperience are well qualified to hold such judicial office. The\nlegislature shall provide by law for the organization and procedure of\nthe judicial nominating commission.\n d. (1) The commission on judicial nomination shall consist of twelve\nmembers of whom four shall be appointed by the governor, four by the\nchief judge of the court of appeals, and one each by the speaker of the\nassembly, the temporary president of the senate, the minority leader of\nthe senate, and the minority leader of the assembly. Of the four members\nappointed by the governor, no more than two shall be enrolled in the\nsame political party, two shall be members of the bar of the state, and\ntwo shall not be members of the bar of the state. Of the four members\nappointed by the chief judge of the court of appeals, no more than two\nshall be enrolled in the same political party, two shall be members of\nthe bar of the state, and two shall not be members of the bar of the\nstate. No member of the commission shall hold or have held any judicial\noffice or hold any elected public office for which he or she receives\ncompensation during his or her period of service, except that the\ngovernor and the chief judge may each appoint no more than one former\njudge or justice of the unified court system to such commission. No\nmember of the commission shall hold any office in any political party.\nNo member of the judicial nominating commission shall be eligible for\nappointment to judicial office in any court of the state during the\nmember's period of service or within one year thereafter.\n (2) The members first appointed by the governor shall have\nrespectively one, two, three and four year terms as the governor shall\ndesignate. The members first appointed by the chief judge of the court\nof appeals shall have respectively one, two, three and four year terms\nas the chief judge shall designate. The member first appointed by the\ntemporary president of the senate shall have a one-year term. The member\nfirst appointed by the minority leader of the senate shall have a\ntwo-year term. The member first appointed by the speaker of the assembly\nshall have a four-year term. The member first appointed by the minority\nleader of the assembly shall have a three-year term. Each subsequent\nappointment shall be for a term of four years.\n (3) The commission shall designate one of their number to serve as\nchairperson.\n (4) The commission shall consider the qualifications of candidates for\nappointment to the offices of judge and chief judge of the court of\nappeals and, whenever a vacancy in those offices occurs, shall prepare a\nwritten report and recommend to the governor persons who are well\nqualified for those judicial offices.\n e. The governor shall appoint, with the advice and consent of the\nsenate, from among those recommended by the judicial nominating\ncommission, a person to fill the office of chief judge or associate\njudge, as the case may be, whenever a vacancy occurs in the court of\nappeals; provided, however, that no person may be appointed a judge of\nthe court of appeals unless such person is a resident of the state and\nhas been admitted to the practice of law in this state for at least ten\nyears. The governor shall transmit to the senate the written report of\nthe commission on judicial nomination relating to the nominee.\n f. When a vacancy occurs in the office of chief judge or associate\njudge of the court of appeals and the senate is not in session to give\nits advice and consent to an appointment to fill the vacancy, the\ngovernor shall fill the vacancy by interim appointment upon the\nrecommendation of a commission on judicial nomination as provided in\nthis section. An interim appointment shall continue until the senate\nshall pass upon the governor's selection. If the senate confirms an\nappointment, the judge shall serve a term as provided in subdivision a\nof this section commencing from the date of his or her interim\nappointment. If the senate rejects an appointment, a vacancy in the\noffice shall occur sixty days after such rejection. If an interim\nappointment to the court of appeals be made from among the justices of\nthe supreme court or the appellate divisions thereof, that appointment\nshall not affect the justice's existing office, nor create a vacancy in\nthe supreme court, or the appellate division thereof, unless such\nappointment is confirmed by the senate and the appointee shall assume\nsuch office. If an interim appointment of chief judge of the court of\nappeals be made from among the associate judges, an interim appointment\nof associate judge shall be made in like manner; in such case, the\nappointment as chief judge shall not affect the existing office of\nassociate judge, unless such appointment as chief judge is confirmed by\nthe senate and the appointee shall assume such office.\n g. The provisions of subdivisions c, d, e and f of this section shall\nnot apply to temporary designations or assignments of judges or\njustices.\n